Seminar highlights health-care changes

As more Affordable Care Act mandates begin to take effect, many business owners are left with more questions than answers about the legislation's impact on businesses. To address this problem, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting a series of seminars across the state to educate health-care, government and business leaders on the current and upcoming changes in health care.

One of the seminars was Tuesday morning at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau. About 70 people were in attendance, taking notes and asking the guest speakers questions.

Thomas McAuliffe is the policy analyst for the Missouri Foundation for Health, a nonpartisan group that promotes quality health care for the uninsured and underserved, and began the seminar with a brief overview of the act. He said it is important to teach employers about the new legislation because it is "here to stay."

"I've been doing public information campaigns for the ACA since it passed," he said. "And I'm not here to tell you it's the best thing since sliced bread; I could tell you 10 great things about it and 10 terrible things about it. But despite the political rhetoric, I'm pretty sure the ACA is here to stay for a little while so we want to try and answer any questions people might have."

McAuliffe said part of answering these questions was dispelling common myths about health-care reform. The most common of these, he said, is that all employers will be mandated to provide insurance to employees.

"There's not technically an employer mandate," McAuliffe said. "If you have fewer than 50 employees, then your business doesn't apply. In Missouri, 97 percent of employers have 50 or fewer employees, and part-time employees also don't count towards that total."

Courtney Vomund, an associate with Polsinelli Shughart PC law firm in St. Louis, addressed the steps business owners should take now to stay ahead of the curve.

"About 600 pages of legislation have been released since November, so it's important to keep reading up on these changes," she said. "Employers really need to be self-auditing to make sure they're complying with the mandates in effect now and those that will take effect in 2014."

The biggest changes, which will take effect Jan. 1 will include the removal of lifetime limits from health insurance plans and the beginning of a health-care exchange, a "one-stop shopping" market for insurance, according to Vomund.

Brendan Cossette, director of legislative affairs with the Missouri Chamber, said he was pleased with the turnout and the involvement from the audience.

"The world of health care is in flux at the moment, and we think it's important businesses have an idea of what's coming and are able to handle the changes and be as prepared as possible," he said. "It's a large piece of legislation that will have more effect on employers than most bills coming down the pike."

Diane Meyr, who works with her husband at Harold Meyr Accounting Services in Cape Girardeau, said she attended the seminar to learn how the ACA would apply to tax preparers.

"I just wanted to see what things we need to be aware of, what we need to let clients know about and what we have to do when we process W2s," she said. "I feel like I'm learning a lot about what's expected of employers."

srinehart@semissourian.com

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